Four wheel, all terrain, vehicles are much in use for travelling through rough country, along paths in woods, over low obstacles, and otherwise carrying a single operator over terrain of all types at relatively high speed where ordinary vehicles could not proceed. Such vehicles have a pair of front wheels with balloon tires which are smaller in diameter than the similar balloon tires of the rear wheels, they are steered by handlebars, the motor is in the center of the vehicle and while there is a metal front bumper, the undercarriage is exposed except for a short metal pan at the rear.
Thus, the gear boxes, brake housings, crank case, and other parts, constituting the exposed bottom, or undercarriage, is vulnerable to damage from rocks, stumps, and other solid obstacles lying in the path and likely to cause a breakdown of the vehicle or injury to the operator.
It has heretofore been proposed to provide rigid metal protection for all terrain vehicles of the armored, endless track, military tank type, but such heavy armor plate is built-in and its weight would defeat the sporting purpose of the all terrain vehicles for which this invention is intended.
Similar, rigid unyieldable, metal guards have been proposed for two wheel motor vehicles, as exemplified in the engine guard roll bars of Lucier et al. U.S. Pat. No. 3,902,740 of Sept. 2, 1975 and the leg shield and crash bar of Vertucci U.S. Pat. No. 4,136,890 to of Jan. 30, 1979.
A plastic storage box which forms part of the bottom of a three wheel vehicle is disclosed in Pivar U.S. Pat. No. 4,325,448 of Apr. 20, 1982.